Changing the Past
by VioletSkye95
Summary: Danielle Hastings had been in hiding for years from the government, when she was offered the chance to go back to the beginning and change everything. Her mission, however, did not go as planned and her life has become a struggle in trying to survive the cruel and strange city of Rapture. Rated M for violence, language and sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

**So I replayed all the bioshock games recently and decided on writing a little story, not sure where it's going to go at this point but hopefully it'll turn out okay :') ~ Skye**

* * *

The cold winter air brushed passed Danny's pale cheek, causing her to shiver and clutch her scarf closer to her face. She was standing outside a large rundown warehouse that appeared to have been abandoned for years, this was where they told her to meet her but she started to have her doubts. After tucking the stray strands of blonde hair behind her hair and sighed, the uneasy feeling became too much and dived her hand into her coat pocket. She pulled out a cigarette carton and placed on between her lips, lighting it the snap of her fingers and breathed the smoke deep into her lungs. Both nervous and excited, she wondered about how this could be something to bring down the corruption in the world or it could just be nothing, just a group of people who have no clue what they're doing.

 _Why am I doing this… I should be staying out of all this mess_ , she thought anxiously as she waited. The door started to creak and a tall, tanned man appeared from within, his dark eyes glaring down at her.

"Danielle Hastings?" He asked, with a deep suspicious voice.

"Danny," the small woman answered nonchalantly, "can we just get this over with."

"Were you followed?" He continued with the questions, much to Danny's annoyance.

"No, I know how these people work and I know how not to get caught by them," she replied, taking the cigarette from her mouth and rolling it between her fingers before flicking it into the snow.

"Yes, I almost forgot. You're one of them," the man stepped forward slightly with arms crossed over his chest. He was indeed tall and appeared to look like he was once a military man to Danny's surprise. The resistance wasn't known for their strong fighters, but they made up with their intelligent minds.

"Used to be," Danny shrugged, "past-tense. Now are you going to let me in or not?" He grumbled something inaudible to Danny and moved to the side to allow her to step into the building.

It wasn't much warmer inside, and even darker. She spied a group of people standing around a large machine, they turned in her direction when they heard her footsteps and one of the older men came rushing towards her. He grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously, "I'm so glad you came! My name is doctor Harvey Lloyd."

"Um… Thanks?" She raised an eyebrow at the older man. He wasn't much taller but was considerably older, Danny guessed he was in his sixties at least.

"We haven't been able to find someone willing to join our cause quite like you, many of the others were… unwell," His voice trailed off, but Danny understood what he meant, she always had an interest in the science behind what they did to her.

Genetically altering DNA had severe side effects in the majority of cases. Tumours, insanity, horrific deformities. Danny was lucky, with only headaches and nosebleeds being fairly common and the hallucinations were rare but she had escaped much of the physical detriments. She was always grateful for that, growing up with those who were unfortunate was hard, even harder when it was her own family.

"Just tell me what this is all about," she said, pulling her hand back from the old man.

"Oh, yes of course. This way," he ushered her towards the machine in the middle of the warehouse. She took a closer look at the strange machine with metal frames and bundles of wires around it.

"This piece of junk isn't what I'm here for is it?" Danny asked, she risked a lot to be here and needed this to be worth it.

"This _piece of junk_ ," a younger woman walked up to her, adjusting her glasses on her round face, "is the most important device in history. With this we can stop all these wars from even happening, its called the lutece device."

"Wait… I've heard that name before," Danny frowned, studying the device. "My grandfather told me about a woman, a scientist, who created a machine that could open up portals to other dimensions… I just thought it was a story."

"Your grandfather was a smart man," Doctor Lloyd chucked, "it has taken us years, decades, to create this. Of course, it isn't the original, but we have tested it and believe that you will be successful in travelling to a time where you can prevent all of this from happening."

"You want me to go back in time?! You're crazy," Danny shook her head in protest, "even if it does work, I am not a hero. I wouldn't know what to do, this whole thing started decades ago."

"Your sister was killed during her training, wasn't she?" The man who let her into the warehouse said, "don't you want to stop that from happening?"

Danny glared at him, "don't bring her into this."

Doctor Lloyd placed a hand on her shoulder, "He does have a point though, think of all the people you could save. If we are successful in getting you to the right time and place, you won't have to kill anyone."

"What makes you think I care about anyone else," she responded coldly, "and I'm not stupid, it's most likely a one-way trip."

Another woman walked towards her, she was middle-aged but still attractive with long wavy red hair, much like what her mother's hair used to look like. "Danielle Hastings, I read about you often. Rescuing prisoners of war, helping young people escape from those horrific training programs. You are strong and compassionate, you've used your abilities for good while others abused it. You're the only person we have right now and we don't have a lot of time before we're found."

Danny sighed, "I'm not that person anymore… My father- "

"Your father was a great man but it was you who saved all those people," the woman interrupted. She Placed a warm hand on her cheek, "you've grown into such a strong woman, your parents would be so proud."

"Who are you…?" She looked so familiar to Danny, but she was sure she didn't know the woman.

She simply smiled in response and took her by the hand, "Let's go somewhere a little quieter." One of her colleagues complained, explaining the urgency of going through the mission, "this is more important. If anyone interrupts I'll kick them through the damn tear instead."

A wave of confusion washed over Danny but she followed compliantly until they were out of earshot of the others. "What's this all about?"

"You don't remember me, but I met you when you were a baby," the woman started, "my name is Annabelle Kandel."

Danny stared at Annabelle, she almost had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "You're… You're my mother's sister… My father told me you died?"

"Almost, I've been with the resistance for many years. I had to go into hiding, I couldn't put my family in danger," she told her, apologetically.

"Why?" Danny pushed further for information while trying not to let her emotions take over.

"I'm not a soldier like your parents, I was just a biologist working for the government… When I found out what they were doing, the way they forced that life on young children, to make them fight for their own greed." Annabelle bit her lip and leaned against the metal wall before she carried on, "Not many people believed me, even your own parents thought I was crazy. The government was different from the public face they put on, it was filled with corruption. I left when I could and focused all my time into finding a way to fix everything, I met a group of physicists who had been working on-"

"Let me guess, time-travel?" Danny rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to process the information. "This is crazy, why didn't you get in tough sooner? My father died years ago and I have been hiding ever since… Where were you then?"

"You were good at hiding yourself from everyone, it took some time but I also had to make sure I could trust you." She replied, "I wish I could have seen you sooner, spent more time with you… You've been through so much."

Danny rested on the wall beside her aunt and sighed, "Do you really think I can do this?"

"You're strong, both physically and emotionally. Out of all the people here, you are the only person who can do this. If there was another way…" Annabelle trailed off, knowing their time together would be brief.

"How much time do we have?"

"A few days at the most, we'll have to go over everything thoroughly. This is your choice though, I won't force you into doing this," She stood in front of Danny and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm so sorry for everything, for what you've been through. But you know how important this is, we need your help."

Danny rested her chin on her aunt's shoulder, trying to fight back her tears. She hadn't felt these feelings for a long time, it hurt but she was also thankful to know that she was still human. This woman she barely knew had made her think back to her mother and sister, with their similar characteristics. As much as she wanted to run away, she knew deep down she had to try.

"I'm not going to do this because you asked me too... Just tell me what I need to do."

* * *

"How am I supposed to memorize all of this?" Danny asked herself as she poured over the notes she had been given. The past two days she spent night and day studying the important names and events that would help her complete her mission. Andrew Ryan, the man who founded rapture, Brigid Tenenbaum, the scientist who discovered ADAM and its properties, along with a huge list of others. Her mission was to go back to a pivotal point in time, the stop ADAM from ever being discovered and assassinate those involved in the research and production of plasmids.

Annabelle wasn't helping at all, going on about her family and how they would be proud of what she was going to do. She tried to get closer to Danny but her attempts were all for naught, Danny was doing this for her and the others who went through the same torment and reconnecting with a relative would just mess things up and break her will to carry it through. It was hard to try and ignore her aunt, the way she looked so much like her mother and sister and her kindness was true, but she knew those emotions trying to scratch their way to the surface could be her downfall.

"How is it coming along?" Doctor Lloyd asked, peering over Danny's shoulder.

She shook her head in response, "there's a lot to go through… I just hope I can do this. Do you agree with the others about killing everyone involved with all this?"

"If there was any other way, but if you only stop that incident of ADAM being discovered, it may come about in a different way." He sat down on the old couch next to her, "It's the only way to be sure."

"I guess, I -" The door bursting open and Jacob, the man who she first met here and took an instant disliking too, burst in.

"She needs to go, now." He said, staring at her, "they're here."

Annabelle rushed forward, "but we're not ready, she's not ready!"

Of course she wasn't ready but Danny stood up, ignoring the fear building up, and walked to the lutece device. "We don't have time to discuss whether anyone is ready, just hurry up and get this thing started."

"I'm sorry, I thought we had more time," Annabelle wrapped her arms around her tightly.

Their farewell was cut short by the others giving Danny a bag of provisions and weapons and made sure she and the machine were ready. Danny stared as the air seemed to move in front of her before it tore open to reveal what looked like a dark hallway, "is this right? I'm getting a bad feeling."

Before anyone could respond, shouting and gunfire was heard from outside.

"Get her through now!" She heard someone should and she felt hands push her through onto the other side of the portal.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2 :) hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was dark and cold, with an uneasy atmosphere. Danny picked herself up from the floor and threw her bag over her shoulder after shoving a small pistol in the back of her jeans. She stared down the hallway, looking for any sign of movement and moved slowly towards the door. _Stay calm_ , she told herself as she pressed her ear against the cool wooden door to listen out for anyone on the other side. Danny knew something had gone wrong, maybe she wasn't even in the right place, but she also knew she had to keep moving and forced herself to open the door and venture out into the unknown.

It was a clothes store, much to Danny's luck, a women's clothes store. It appeared to be vacant so she searched around looking for something a bit more suitable to the time era and settled on a pair of fitted trousers and a black and white dress blouse. As she looked around, the more she suspected that a fight, or something had happened, the floor was littered with broken glass and old blood stained the carpet and walls. She then remembered reading about the civil war, the war that went on for years after ADAM's discovery.

"Shit…" She muttered, sliding down the wall, "this isn't where I need to be." She rested her forehead onto her knees as she tried to think of some way to get back on track. They didn't have time to go through a backup plan, all she could do was improvise.

It was at that time she heard the creaking of a door and she rushed like a quiet mouse out of sight. She listened closely to the sudden intruders, one pair of footsteps at first and then another shuffling behind them.

"I heard somethin'," a deep voice said while the other sighed at their partner.

"Well you're hearing things then, no one in this place but us." The other voice was a woman, albeit a not a very welcoming sounding woman.

"Come on lil mousey, I know you're here somewhere," the man's voice grew louder, along with his footsteps.

Danny slid her knife carefully out of her boot and stayed still, refraining from burning them there and then, not wanting to cause more of a commotion. She closed her eyes and drew in her breath quietly, calming herself and preparing to pounce on the unfortunate man.

"Oi! You guys coming or what? I don't like hanging round here long!" Another voice stopped the man in his tracks.

"You go on then! I'm huntin' a mouse," the man groaned.

"You paranoid bastard," The woman spat.

"Ugly whore," he grunted in reply.

The next thing she felt was the room heating up and a terrifying scream. All she could do was stay still and quiet, blocking out the dying cries from the stranger. Of course, he would have probably tried to kill her if he found her but being burnt alive was a painful way to die. The sounds slowly quietened down and she heard the woman muttering as she left her apparent partner's corpse behind.

She had forgotten this feeling, the feeling of both excitement and fear mixed into one strange emotion. The feeling she had before a dangerous mission or when she and her father were close to being found, she found it strangely exhilarating.

Minutes past before she crawled out to inspect the body, to find out what kind of people she had to be wary of. The body was still smoking, the skin was charred with a familiar smell reaching her nostrils. Dany cringed as she kneeled, seeing if there was anything of value that wasn't burnt but she had no such luck. By then she knew it was time to venture out, to explore and find more about this strange place.

The moment she stepped out of the store, she felt a wave of dread wash over her. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest and her breathing became ragged, the adrenaline had left her quickly and he was left with her panic. Closing her eyes, she thought about her goal, her mission, her family.

"I have to do this," she told herself. She breathed deep, full of a mixture of fear and excitement, and walked forward into the unknown.

* * *

Hours had passed since she left the store, Danny kept to the shadows and found that she was small enough to hide in the vents when she heard voices close by, but she found barely any information on what this place was. There weren't many people around and the ones she did see seemed to be almost crazy, there were no sane civilians to be seen anywhere. The more she searched, the more she thought she was in some kind of huge department store, though it was very different from where she was from. She looked for ways out but the whole building appeared to be isolated, there was definitely something not right about this.

Danny finally settled in another abandoned store, in the stock room to rest. She pulled out a cigarette and lit it with the small flame erupting from her finger. While she rummaged through her bag, she found some notes, ones she hadn't had the time to go through before she came to this place. She continued to read through them and laughed weakly at them once she finished the first page, now she realised what this place was. A prison.

"This is just great…" She sighed and crushed the cigarette under her boot. This place was a prison for crazed splicers and followers of a man called Frank Fontaine. She started reading about what happened to this Frank Fontaine, but she was interrupted by voices before she could make any sense of it.

"You sure she went in here?" A thick Irish voice asked.

"Yeah, saw the little thing run in here, looks like she's got supplies too," another man replied.

Danny bit her lip and mentally scolded herself, these guys knew what they were doing, and they weren't crazed like the others she had come across. "Don't come any closer."

"Come on now, love. We just want to talk," the Irishman told her.

She stared at the notes in her hands and sighed, letting the flames flicker from her skin. She couldn't let anyone see them, even if it meant this was all guess work from now on. Once the papers had turned to ash, she stood up and stared at the two men in front of her, her hands still aflame. They appeared to be sane, not like the splicers he had previously encountered.

"I don't want any trouble," she told them, "if you want my things then fine, I can make do without them."

"What's a nice girl like you doing all alone in this place," the man with the dark hair spoke, he had a charming sound to his voice but there was something off about him.

"What do you think…" She wasted no time spinning her story. "That asshole, Andrew Ryan, put me here. I don't even belong here, I'm not like those crazy junkies."

"I don't trust her," the other man mumbled, staring down at her.

Danny laughed, "Well in this place, not trusting people on their first encounter is a wise decision."

"Smart lass," the Irishman laughed with her, "but we are going to be needing your supplies. I have a lot of men that need them, don't make thins harder than it has to be, you're not the only one that's got a handy little power."

The man next to him and grinned at Danny, holding his hand up as icicles started to form. Danny shook her head and sighed, picked up her bag and throwing it at their feet, she may be able to kill them, but she had to be smarter than that. This man was different, he just might be of some use to her, "Just take it and go."

The man picked the heavy bag up with ease, "now I wonder where you got all of this from."

"Does it even matter?" Danny folded her arms across her desk, "Are you going to leave me alone now?"

"For now," The man smirked at her, "I'm sure we'll meet again soon."

"I look forward to it," she replied with a sarcastic tone.

The man chuckled as he turned to leave but turned his head before walking out the door, "The name's Atlas by the way."


End file.
